Ghana has identified a staggering $31 billion in unauthorized import-related transfers, Finance Minister Ato Forson revealed during the 2026 budget presentation, prompting decisive recovery measures.
The Finance Minister said an audit of import declaration forms (IDFs) uncovered widespread misuse, with only a fraction of the transactions linked to actual imports. Between April 2020 and August 2025, over 525,000 transactions were processed, but only 10,440 corresponded to real goods entering the country.
“An equivalent of US$31 billion in transactions were transferred abroad with non-goods imported into the country. This leak bleeds our reserves, weakens the cedi, and deprives the economy of resources that should have been used to build schools, roads, and hospitals,” Minister Forson said.
The audit also exposed under-declared import values, resulting in GHS11 billion in lost revenue, and over 17,700 cases exceeding the central bank’s US$200,000 limit, channeling an additional $20 billion out of Ghana.
In response, the government is setting up a special recovery unit within the Ghana Revenue Authority to reclaim lost funds and will strengthen verification procedures with the Bank of Ghana. Forson emphasized that every dollar leaving Ghana must now deliver real value.
“An inter-agency committee will audit all import-related transfers going forward,” he said, “and the Bank of Ghana will match every forex transfer with verified import data.”
